Every day after school, I take out a blank piece of paper, and across the top I write “Amelia’s Big Fat To Do List.” It’s the perfect canvas for all the things that are bouncing around in my brain, and it helps me make sure that I don’t end up turning in my dog and walking my trigonometry homework. It’s a rather jumbled list, often written in some type of code. For instance, something like “mucho sweat” may translate into “go to the gym after school.”
The newest addition to my list is “final words” – that is, a senior quote. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since my best friend and I commandeered her older sister’s yearbook in eighth grade. At the time, my senior year seemed about as close as NASA successfully landing on Mars. Wouldn’t you know it? 2012 is a year for miracles. For those of you who seem to have missed the train to Clue-Ville, both anomalies have at long last arrived. {sidebar id=65}
Now what was I saying? Oh yes, senior year.
Apart from having your glossy glamour shots grace the latest installment of the school’s yearbook, you’re allowed to choose a quote that will be placed below your picture. Truth be told, it’s my favorite part of the yearbook.
The overgrown dragons, ready to leave the, um, nest and soar off into the sunset (or nearest UC), all have their final say on those pages. Whether it be a witty movie quote, deep and meaningful song lyric, or even a blank space (which may be because they felt that their picture was worth a thousand words, or the more plausible circumstance that they missed the deadline), everyone will leave something behind.
With my ninth through eleventh grade yearbooks sprawled out on my bed, all turned to the classic black, high gloss pages full of seniors, I revisited some of my favorite quotes.
From the graduating Class of 2010, my favorites were Rick Zang’s nod to Pokémon with “Gotta Catch ‘Em All!” and Cynthia Ly’s inspiring Dr. Suess quote about how there is “no one is alive who is youer than you.”
Of the 2011 alumni, my favorites were Gracie Garcia, who quoted Charlie Chaplin’s statement about the importance of laughter every day, and Cierra Whitehead who used the infamous “Mischief Managed” to bid her senior year adieu.
However, I’m more than sure that I’ve found my two absolute favorites in the Class of 2012 with Jake Frame, who countered Zang’s quote with “I’ve caught ‘em all,” and Audrey Benelisha’s epic, most ultimate quote from “Mean Girls'” Gretchen Wieners that reads: “I’m sorry that people are so jealous of me, but I can’t help it that I’m popular.”
I’ve been scrambling for ideas since 2009. Sometimes I feel I should use something deep and thought provoking like Aristotle or Thoreau, and other times I’m so desperate for inspiration that I’ll settle for the nearest bumper sticker. Unfortunately, there’s no test you can take that will spew out your ideal senior quote. I can only hope that soon enough, the clouds will part and the choir will sing “hallelujah” as the perfect quotation drifts down from the heavens and into my lap. Until then, I’m stuck in the same boat as many of my peers, drifting through the open sea, searching for a beacon among the waves.
Hey, that’s a good one. Let me write it down.
